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Thursday, September 28, 2017

Little Rumble

Yesterday, we said goodbye to our Little Rumble.

Rumble was a retired race dog, who we adopted seven years ago through the Newfoundland chapter of Greyhound Pets of Atlantic Canada (GPAC-NL). He spent the first three years of his life on the track, before retiring and finding his forever home with us.

Rumble has been such a big part of our family, and he has been a wonderful companion to Brennen. He was always so gentle and careful with him, and would walk along with his wheelchair, never pulling ahead or veering off to the side. Rumble was not just a good dog. He was the best dog, and we loved him very much.

Rumble has been on a steady decline these past couple of months. It started with him just acting a bit funny - staring off at nothing, pacing around the house at night, a lack of appetite, losing clumps of fur, and it seemed to go downhill from there fairly quickly. We brought him to the vet for a check about a month ago. They did some blood work, which didn't show anything obviously wrong, and we were referred to the Veterinary Specialty Centre, where they performed an ultrasound just last week. The results were inconclusive, meaning that, again, there was nothing obviously wrong.. but there was obviously something wrong. By this point, he had stopped eating altogether, and had lost a ton of weight. Andrew and I have been up with him all night, every night this week, and he was not doing well. We could not allow him to suffer any longer, and so we consulted the vet and determined it was time to say our goodbyes.

We are heartbroken, and feeling a tremendous sense of loss right now. Rumble was our boy. Our big baby.

Rumble loved to run, and we loved to watch him! He was in his element when let to run free. In his earlier years, he could fly like the wind, doing loops around us but always coming back to stop at our feet. He was built for speed - a canine athlete who could hit 45 mph in a double suspension gallop. Greyhounds are the second fastest animal on Earth, just behind the cheetah, and Rumble loved to show us what he was made of!

We are still a little in shock, not really believing that he is not coming home. There is an emptiness in the house, although it is full of activity. We miss our sweet Rumble. Our family is not the same without him, but we are better for having had him in our lives. He was the perfect dog for us - loyal and loving and super laid-back. He was a gentle giant who craved attention and would sit up on your lap if you let him. Rumble had no concept of how big he was, and would try to squeeze into the smallest spots just to be close to you.

I will miss his wet nose nudging my elbow. I will miss the sound of his heavy paws on the hardwood floor. I can imagine that for many years to come, we will be saying things like, "Remember when Rumble ate a whole cheese log off the coffee table?!" and "Remember that time Rumble got away from Mom and Dad's house?!" - To follow up on that, we were all out by the lake, and he wandered off. It was no time before I received a text saying, "Julie, is Rumble missing?" I'd hardly had time to realize that he was missing! Someone nearby saw a Greyhound walking casually down the road (by himself), and knew that wasn't right. They picked him up and called our friends at GPAC-NL. One of the members recognized him, and knew to contact me. Unreal. It was seamless - like the whole thing had been planned. My love goes out to our GPAC friends and family. We are so thankful for your support all these years. You guys do great work, and I am so proud to have rescued our sweet boy through such a compassionate organization.

Rumble had a wonderful life, and he certainly enhanced ours. We will miss him forever, and remember him often.

“A dog doesn't care if you are rich or poor, educated or illiterate,
clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his.”